


The Smile Can't Hide the Scars

by literaryempress



Series: My Ask Box Corner [1]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anger, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Boyfriends, Break Up, Crying, Custody Battle, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Fights, Fist Fights, Getting Back Together, Good Boyfriend Mickey, Hurt Ian, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Men Crying, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Past Abuse, Past Domestic Violence, Past Relationship(s), Post-Break Up, Protectiveness, Self-Defense, Stalking, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, Tumblr Prompt, Vulnerability
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-24
Updated: 2016-03-24
Packaged: 2018-05-28 19:22:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6341938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literaryempress/pseuds/literaryempress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Original Prompt: <em>Hi, I love your writing, especially the Max and Isaac stories! I have a prompt...Ian and Mickey get together, each having a child from previous relationship. Mickey has Yev and Ian has a daughter (who is biologically his and his ex partner adopted). Ian's ex doesn't want her anywhere near Mickey and starts badmouthing him, trying to keep her away and even fights for full custody. It starts to become between Ian and Mickey but the power couple they are, pull through. Please and thank you!</em></p><p>Ian thought he could move on from Mickey and get his life back on track with a new relationship. He was wrong. This new relationship was the worst one he's ever had, and his life is further in shambles than it's ever been.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Smile Can't Hide the Scars

Yevgeny’s eyes were still open as the thunder and lightning interrupted his sleep outside of the two-bedroom apartment. He and his father hated the rain, but Yevgeny wasn’t used to this much thunder so late at night, which triggered many of his nightmares.

Mickey used to be like Yevgeny when he was a kid. He was always told to stand away from the windows when there was thunder and lightning, and whenever he observed the neighborhood from the living room window, he would jump at the flash of lightning that would light up the sky, followed by a roar from the clouds. Now, at twenty-five, thunder and lightning didn’t fear him as much. This came to his advantage when Yevgeny would wake up in the middle of the night, screaming for his father and wanting the noise to go away.

Another crash of thunder rang through Yevgeny’s ears, and the little boy tensed up immediately. Mickey had his hand on Yevgeny’s shoulder, rubbing it ever so softly as the raindrops tapped against the window. Svetlana was on vacation for the week with some girls she met at a local bar, so Yevgeny didn’t have her soft lullabies to get him to sleep. That didn’t mean he didn’t have Mickey to look to for comfort.

The six-year-old’s eyes started to get a little droopy, and Mickey assumed that Yevgeny was feeling a little bit better about sleeping through the storm. Not even a moment later, the alarm buzzed in the living room, swiping Mickey away from his thoughts.

“Daddy,” Yev whined as Mickey stood up off the bed.

Mickey turned his head back around and took in Yev’s form. The little boy shivered underneath the thick, brown blanket Mickey passed down to him from his mother. Mickey never would have guessed to hear any little kid call him _Daddy_ in years, yet there Yev was, retrieving his father’s attention while still drowned in fear.

“I’ll be back, man,” Mickey whispered to him. “Someone’s at the door.” Yev would have believed him if it weren’t for the disruptive thundering noises outside. Still, he stayed under the blanket and waited for Mickey to return.

Mickey’s feet shuffled across the living room floor, and a hand raked over his sleepy face. It was almost midnight; what in the hell was anyone knocking at his door for?

Without a second thought, Mickey buzzed the guest inside the building. Whoever it was, it must have been important. Maybe Svetlana ran into an emergency while on vacation. Maybe Mandy needed some help getting rid of a dead body. Maybe Iggy got caught by the feds again after another drug deal gone wrong.

None of those things happened. In fact, when Mickey opened the front door, his eyes fell upon a face he’d never expect to see in another few years, at least.

“Ian?” Mickey gasped, taking in Ian’s form. His long, red hair was soaking wet and sticking to his forehead. A dark bruise was plastered under his eye, and red blood stains were all over his nose and mouth. Ian trembled as he clutched a crying baby girl to his chest. His ankle looked as though it was going to give out.

“Mick,” Ian cried, attempting to warm up after getting out of the treacherous weather, “I need your help.”

* * *

More tension filled the apartment, and most of it wasn’t from Yev’s fear of thunder and lightning this time.

To Mickey, Ian felt like a whole different person. They haven’t seen each other for about four or five years. Ian was a confused teenager back then, a confused teenager who didn’t know what he wanted in life. He didn’t know whether or not he and Mickey should continue their messy relationship or not. He didn’t know whether or not they would be able to jump over the oncoming hurdles that came to knock them down.

A year passed before Ian got picked up by a very handsome man in a gay bar in downtown Chicago. His name was Colton Roberts, and he was the first guy Ian had sex with following his and Mickey’s separation.

Usually Ian was the one giving it to someone else, and he and Mickey would often switch depending on the occasion, but now Colton took over that role. He treated Ian like a rare diamond, something too precious and delicate for the world. He treated Ian like he was the only thing in the world that mattered, whether during sex or outside of sex. Ian never would have gotten back to school for his GED if it wasn’t for him.

Another year passed, and Colton already wanted to be with Ian long-term. Ian was very hesitant about the idea, though, considering that his break-up with Mickey was still fresh in his mind. Colton, on occasion, reminded him that Mickey was probably getting his own life together right now, and Ian should be doing the same. Ian wanted nothing more than for he and Mickey to get their lives together, but how would that even go if Ian was spending some nights dreaming about what he and Mickey could have been.

Eventually, though, Ian and Colton were on the same page with each other. At one point, Colton took Ian out on a date, and that was when Colton proposed to Ian in front of a crowd of elderly couples, families, and younger couples. It had only been a couple of years, but Ian was happy with his and Colton’s relationship. As much as he missed his relationship with Mickey, he wanted to be happy like Colton said, and he couldn’t be completely happy if his mind was on someone who was moving on from him.

They had a shotgun wedding, which was something neither one of them were expecting. However, Ian wanted to make sure his family had enough money to support themselves, and Colton’s family wasn’t that much better financially to afford a church wedding or anything fancy or special.

Months later, the couple discussed having a baby, and that’s where the problems started to occur. Ian wanted a baby, but in order to raise one properly, they needed the money to afford hospital bills, baby food, and toys and clothes. He suggested returning to the club to earn extra cash, but the moment he even pitched the idea to Colton, he flipped out on him. Apparently, after all this time, Ian never told him about the time he was a dancer in Boystown during one of his highs in his bipolar disorder.

One of the disadvantages of being with Colton, especially when problems like these arrived, was that he was stronger than Ian. He was also very violent and aggressive. The day Ian ignored his request to stop going to Boystown to dance for money, Colton was pulling Ian and slapping him in the face. It was the first time he ever laid a hand on his boyfriend, and he regretted it the moment he saw Ian’s reddening face.

The worst part was that Ian actually believed that it would be the last time that Colton would hit him. He was wrong.

Now that Ian’s biological daughter Amber was safe in her father’s arms, Ian never wanted her to go back to that kind of environment ever again. Ian was naïve about the nature of his and Colton’s relationship before, but he plans on making better decisions now that he and Amber were free from that hell hole.

* * *

Ian couldn’t even look Mickey in the eye after he told him the entire story. It’s been four or five years since they even talked to each other. For four or five years, Ian actually believed that he would be better off without Mickey and vice versa. Boy, was he wrong or what?

Mickey took the baby girl into Yev’s bedroom and let her sleep beside Yev for the night. He and Svetlana got rid of Yev’s crib a long time ago; Mickey wasn’t expecting to need it right now, especially during a time like this. In the back of his mind, he cursed himself out for getting rid of that damn thing.

Once the kids were asleep, Mickey went into the bathroom to grab a first-aid kit to fix Ian’s wounds up. Ian and Mickey haven’t touched each other in years, so when Mickey got a chance to bring a hand to Ian’s injured arm, it was no surprise that electricity went through his and Ian’s bodies.

That one moment of electricity, for Ian, was interrupted by the pain from the bruise imprinted on his arm underneath his jacket. At the sound of Ian’s wince, Mickey flinched back and whispered, “sorry.” It took everything in Mickey to not cry or break some glass, but he hated seeing how broken his ex-boyfriend looked. Colton was a piece of shit who didn’t deserve someone as special as Ian.

“Do you need me to get anything tomorrow?” Mickey asked quietly, peeling Ian’s coat off as gently as he could to prevent Ian from wincing again. A sound escaped his lips, but it was gentle this time.

“Amber, uh,” Ian stuttered, sniffling a bit and frowning at his swollen nose, “she needs some baby food…and maybe some diapers.”

Mickey nodded, gulping angrily at the memory of hearing Ian talk about Amber being the rope to Ian and Colton’s tug-of-war match at Colton’s apartment. “Anything else?”

Ian was quiet for a moment. Tonight was still very overwhelming for him. He’s not even sure if he needs anything else. Right now, a nap would satisfy his needs.

Mickey placed some ice cubes in a couple of Ziploc bags and gently taped one of the bags to Ian’s swollen arm. The corners of Mickey’s eyes started to sting at the sound of Ian bracing the cold and the pain he endured with every touch of Mickey’s hands on him. Ian was worse this time around than he was four or five years ago when he found out about his lifelong diagnosis. Mickey’s left picking up the pieces Colton left on the floor when he broke Ian to bits.

Hell, Colton’s name was giving Mickey a migraine, and he preferred to not even think about him any longer.

Ian and Mickey slept in the same bed that night, but Mickey gave Ian his distance in case one of his injuries started to irritate him again. Now Mickey was the one who couldn’t sleep for the night. Ian looked terrible. This wasn’t the Ian Mickey expected to see after a very long separation. Mickey’s heart broke in tiny shards just watching Ian’s body rise and fall in front of him.

“Mick?” Ian whispered quietly like the scared little boy he once was.

Mickey took the opportunity to wipe the tears off his face the moment Ian’s voice broke the silence. “Yeah?” he croaked.

“When we broke up a few years ago,” Ian started, and Mickey knew this conversation wouldn’t go too well, “did you really leave?”

Mickey glanced down at the bed sheets below them. “What do you mean?”

“I thought you’d leave,” Ian continued, “once I called it off.” A pause. “You know…find someone better?”

No way. Mickey would never find anyone better than Ian. He swore to his grandfather’s grave that he wouldn’t find another boyfriend better than Ian. “Nah,” Mickey answered, clearing his throat of the heavy lump that was forming inside.

Ian didn’t speak for a few seconds, but the next few words that came out had Mickey shaking. “I didn’t, either.”

This time, Mickey couldn’t keep his distance; he scooted closer to Ian, gently wrapping an arm around Ian’s torso and placing a gentle kiss to his cheek, prompting tears out of Ian’s eyes.

* * *

Another five months passed since Ian arrived in Mickey’s apartment. Ian changed his cell phone number and dropped any and all connections he had with Colton. Ian and Mickey worked together to give Ian full custody of Amber and to revoke Colton's adoption consent for her. Mickey did whatever he could to fully move Ian and Amber in his apartment with him. He even bought some baby stuff for Amber, including a white crib and some new stuffed animals. Ian would have gone back to Colton’s apartment to retrieve her old toys, but Mickey insisted that he stay in Mickey’s, assuming that Colton was ready to throw another punch in Ian’s way.

In the process of cutting off any and all ties with Colton, Ian and Mickey discussed their past relationship and eventually got back together. Ian didn’t want to dive into a relationship again after what he’s been through months prior; in retrospect, he knew what to expect with Mickey since they’ve been together before.

Svetlana came to the apartment one Saturday morning to help Ian watch the kids while Mickey was at work. He found an extra job he could work at to earn more money for Ian’s baby girl. Ian wanted to help with the expenses, but he also had college assignments he needed to worry about. Luckily, Mickey filled Svetlana in on what happened, and she was more than eager to donate some cash she’s earned on the weekdays.

“Baby girl is precious,” Svetlana complimented as Ian rocked Amber to sleep in his arms. “Mother did very well making her.”

“Thanks,” Ian responded, smoothing a hand over Amber’s back.

“She sleeps longer in a day than Yevgeny has when he was a baby,” Svetlana stated, folding some of the clean laundry in the basket. “Must say a lot, yes?”

Ian smiled. It was the first time he’s genuinely smiled in a long time at a casual joke. “Definitely.”

The alarm buzzed, and Svetlana went to go answer the door, leaving Ian to cradle the baby and keep her quiet. However, the sleeping baby didn’t keep Ian from overhearing the conversation between Svetlana and the mystery person outside.

“Who is it?” Svetlana asked.

“Um, my name’s Colton. I’m here for Ian.”

 _Shit_. How did Colton figure out where Ian was?

Ian carried Amber into Yevgeny’s bedroom and placed her inside the crib, keeping his ears open as Svetlana and Colton talked. “Ian’s not here,” Svetlana responded, and Ian couldn’t be anymore grateful that Svetlana had his back.

“I just really need to talk to him about Amber,” Colton stated, catching Ian’s attention. “He doesn’t have to come down if he doesn’t want to.”

Svetlana and Ian shared a look of concern. Neither one of them wanted to deal with Colton right now, especially being that there was the likelihood of him coming upstairs to snatch the baby from her slumber.

“Let me talk to him,” Ian whispered to Svetlana, causing her to slump her shoulders. “I won’t let him up. We’re just gonna talk.” Svetlana suspected the bullshit that could possibly ensue from this conversation, but she let it slide, trusting Ian to make the right moves.

Ian walked over to the intercom and started to speak through it, Svetlana standing nearby to overhear the conversation. “Colton?”

“Ian? Hey.” Colton started. “Um…listen. I know you and Amber kind of made yourselves home here and everything –“

“How the hell did you know where I was staying?”

“Your sister told me the address some time ago,” Colton replied, but Ian knew deep down that he was lying. If that were the case, Fiona would have called him about it by now. “The reason I came here today was…well, I want to see my baby girl again –“

“She’s not your baby girl anymore.”

“Ian, come on. She misses her other father, I’m sure.”

“Not after you almost killed her.”

“I wasn’t trying to kill her.”

“Then what do you call pulling on her while your ex husband tries getting her to safety? You’re lucky I didn’t call the cops on you.”

“I love Amber, Ian,” Colton continued. “I want to be a part of her life again.”

“That’s not what this is about, is it?” Ian challenged him, folding his arms. Svetlana grew angrier as the conversation continued, which motivated her to call Mickey’s cell phone, her eyes still on Ian. “If it was, you wouldn’t have stalked me all this time and showed up at Mickey’s apartment, uninvited. So what is this possibly about, Colton?”

There was a moment of silence before Colton answered, “I don’t think Amber is safe over here.”

“Oh, and she’s possibly safe over at your place?”

“I’m pretty sure you told me once before that Mickey has guns hidden somewhere up there.”

“That was back at his old home,” Ian argued. “He’s in a new place now.”

“He’s not a good influence for our daughter, Ian.”

“Amber is not your daughter.”

“She _loves_ me, Ian.”

“No, she doesn’t. She’s a baby; she doesn’t even remember who you are.”

Off to the side, Svetlana finish a quick phone call between her and Mickey before hanging up completely. Yevgeny had emerged from his room to watch some television, but Svetlana sent him back to his room once the hell fire between Ian and Colton was over. “You can come out in a few minutes,” Svetlana told him. “Stay quiet for baby, yes?” Yevgeny nodded before heading back to his room.

When Svetlana returned to eavesdropping, Ian grew furious. “You don’t deserve to have shit after you sat back there and placed my daughter in a dangerous environment!” Ian shouted.

Colton sighed, running a hand over his dark blonde hair for a moment before speaking again. “You know what?” he told Ian. “Don’t even think about it. I’m gonna make a call –“

“The fuck are you talking about? Who are you calling?”

“A lawyer. I’m getting my kid back.” Colton tapped at his cell phone screen furiously, looking up the phone number of his lawyer to call.

“She was never your kid in the first place,” Ian argued. “I’m the biological father and clearly more fit to be a father than you.”

“If you say so,” Colton replied nonchalantly.

Svetlana frowned at Ian, still waiting for another response from Colton. Ian ran both of his hands through his hair in frustration. “What the hell’s going on?”

“He’s calling his fucking lawyer.”

“Disgrace,” Svetlana scoffed, pushing Ian to the side as she spoke to Colton through the intercom. “Listen, ass hat. You get off our property, or I’ll give you something to call for.” No response. Svetlana starts to put her shoes on and walk to the front door with a baseball bat in her hand when Ian stops her.

“You’re gonna hit him?”

“He hits you; I hit him. Karma’s a bitch, no?” Svetlana yanked Ian’s hand off her arm and walks out of the apartment door, running down the stairs with the bat. Ian cautiously follows her but only stops once he’s in the hallway of the building entrance. Svetlana opens the door and starts swinging, but Colton’s hand grabs at the bat. His muscle power overpowers Svetlana’s, weakening her hold on the bat and pushing her back through the door.

Ian is ultimately vulnerable the moment Colton steps through the building door. Colton has fire in his eyes, and Ian wasn’t used to seeing anything like that. Usually Ian was strong enough to fight with his foes; this time, he had no idea what he should do. He started to run for help, but Colton already had a grip onto Ian’s bicep, dragging Ian closer to him so he could whisper in Ian’s ear.

“I want my baby girl. Where is she?”

Tears started to pool in Ian’s eyes. Amber’s safety meant everything to him, and the last thing he wanted to do was give her up to a domestic abuser. He didn’t care about Amber, either, from what Ian could tell. At the first cry, he might burn her on a frying pan or something. Ian had those fears about kids in bad homes, and he didn’t want that to come true for his daughter.

All of a sudden, Colton got a blow to the head. Mickey had arrived back at the apartment in a flash after the conversation he had with Svetlana not too long ago with a tire iron from the car in his possession. “You get the fuck out of my apartment building,” Mickey scolded him.

Colton started to laugh. He _laughed_ , of all things. Ian wouldn’t be surprised if he got him mixed up with the Joker. “Why?” Colton asked. “So you can use my fucking kid as a target for your gun practices?”

“I’m not fuckin’ asking you anymore. I’m telling you. Leave.”

“The fuck are you gonna do, you fucking pussy?”

That was all Mickey needed before he threw a punch in Colton’s face. Colton had a stronger one, though, which knocked Mickey to the ground. Mickey tried his hardest to get Colton off him, but it was no use. Colton was stronger than he and Ian combined, added to the fact that the fucker was taller, too. At one point, Mickey felt like he was suffocating, but he held himself together enough to attempt to shove Colton off his throbbing body.

Not too longer after that, the police showed up outside. Svetlana directed them to the fighting men inside the building, and two of the officers tugged Colton off Mickey, dragging him until he was near the sidewalk so they could handcuff him. That didn’t stop Colton from shouting slurs in Mickey’s direction.

“Oh, you called the cops, huh?” Colton hysterically shouted, a trail of blood falling from his nose. “You feel better being a big ass baby and telling the teacher now, you pussy-whipped piece of shit?” Mickey didn’t answer.

Svetlana turned in Colton’s direction after speaking with a police officer, folding her arms in front of her chest. “Mickey called police before he came,” she simply stated. “Next time, we get S.W.A.T.” With that, Svetlana took the bat from off the floor and walked back upstairs to check on the children.

Mickey heard a lot of voices around him, but he couldn’t concentrate with his growing headache. Colton didn’t give him a concussion or anything, but he didn’t even have to physically hurt Mickey in order to aggravate the Milkovich. The moment Ian walked into his apartment with a bruised face and a crying baby was all the evidence Mickey needed to know how much of a piece of shit Colton really was.

Right next to him, Ian had sat down on the floor, his knees up to his chest and his arms wrapped around his knees. He looked fucking terrified. His eyes were red from the sight of Colton and Mickey fighting, and his chin trembled even when he tried to still himself. To think Colton had his hand on Ian at one point, attempting to hurt Ian with it once again like he’s done multiple times before. Mickey didn’t want to.

“Ian,” Mickey spoke to him gently, crawling over to him and being cautious of his own injuries. He was now sitting close to Ian, placing a throbbing hand on Ian’s cheek. Ian didn’t move, and it was scaring Mickey. “Ian, it’s okay. He’s gone, okay? He’s not coming back.”

Again, Ian didn’t move. Some tears fell down Ian’s face, and Mickey could almost hear a small sound escape his lips. A lump in Mickey’s throat began to grow at the sight of it all, and he began to wrap his arms around Ian’s fragile body, placing a soft kiss on Ian’s forehead. The kiss must have triggered something in Ian, because he started to cry a little louder, and his eyes had shut close, with more tears seeping through the lids.

Mickey kept Ian close to him, rubbing his arm for comfort. He turned around and watched as the cops dragged Colton into the police car. “I’m not going anywhere, Ian, okay?” Mickey stated with much determination, angrily watching the cops leave the scene. “I’m not letting you go.”

**Author's Note:**

> To the anon that sent this story, I kind of switched some parts around a little. Like, I don't think I went in too much detail on the adoption (though I did briefly mentioned it), and I may have went along the "becoming between Ian and Mickey" part differently. Still, I hope this satisfied your wishes.
> 
> If anyone else wants to send prompts, here's my [Tumblr ask box](http://promqueen-and-hairgel.tumblr.com/ask). Have a happy day/night, and happy reading. <3


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